AN AMMANFORD councillor has warned that proposals to bring partners in to help manage Carmarthenshire County Council’s leisure centres and theatres would be bad for the area.

Deian Harries, Plaid Cymru councillor and local businessman, said that the council should aim to keep control of the services, rather than looking to outsource them because “once they’re gone, they are gone for good.”

The council has said that leisure centres and theatres could be managed through a partnership with another organisation in a bid to protect vital public services.

It is exploring innovative options for the facilities and associated services as part of a wide-ranging review aimed at saving money in order to cope with central government funding cuts.

An option being considered is for other organisations, such as charities or trusts, to deliver these services at less cost with the council claiming hundreds of thousands of pounds could be saved through such partnerships.

But Councillor Harries, who uses Amman Valley Leisure Centre in his role with Ammanford AFC, said that the Ammanford sports centre offers great facilities and even better services.

“This doesn’t seem like a good idea. At the moment I would say the Amman Valley Leisure Centre is one of the best in the county.

“It is highly used by so many different parts of the community. It has a great gym, top-class Astro Turf pitch and lots of brilliant facilities and at great subsidised rates which make sports accessible for all.

“It’s the same as at the Miners’ Theatre. Such a beautiful building with great facilities which offers some fabulous shows.”

Cllr Harries says that such services and prices could well be affected by outside sourcing.

He said “Could the council guarantee that prices wouldn’t rise and that the service offered will be as good as they are now. This is something that really concerns me “It is essential that these services stay council-run.

We need to keep them because we will never have them again.

“Once they’re gone, they’re gone for good.”

A full report is due to go before the council’s Community Scrutiny Committee for discussion when they meet on Monday (September 14).

Their recommendations will go to the Executive Board before going to full council for decision.

Executive Board Member for Leisure Cllr Meryl Gravell said: “In common with many other local authorities, Carmarthenshire is exploring the potential of partnering with another organisation to manage part of its leisure portfolio.

“The aim is to protect those services in order for public access to continue, and the contract would ensure standards of delivery would be maintained or improved.”